Ethnobotany. As mentioned in “Shasta Ethnography, Anthropological Records” (Holt, Catharine, 1946), the bulbs of Fritillaria recurva were boiled or roasted for food by the Shasta People.

Description by the California Native Plants Society. Fritillaria recurva, the Scarlet Fritillary, is native to southwest Oregon from Douglas County south into California where it grows in the Klamath Mountains, Northern Coast Ranges, Cascade Range, and Sierra Nevada. It grows in dry, open woodlands and chaparral from 300 to 2200 meters, and it blooms in spring from February to July. Throughout its range it is distinguishable from other Fritillaria species by its scarlet red color, checkered with yellow on the inside, and recurved petals. Its leaves are arranged in whorls and are linear to narrowly lance-shaped. In southwest Oregon it is similar to the rare Fritillaria gentneri. The latter can be distinguished from Fritillaria recurva by its branching style and longer nectary glands. Additionally, it blooms about two weeks after Scarlet Fritillary and has a different reddish color.